Cloud Dine at Canyons could become lodge

The current Cloud Dine restaurant at Canyons Resort at the top of Dream Peak may be expanded by 50 percent. The existing structure was only supposed to be a temporary use, as it does not conform to code. (Photo courtesy of Caitlin Martz)

Visitors of Canyons Resort may not be aware that the Cloud Dine restaurant at the top of DreamScape and DreamCatcher lifts is only a temporary structure. That may soon change, as a proposed expansion of the restaurant is in the works.

Located at the top of Dream Peak, the Cloud Dine restaurant was given a two-year temporary use permit in October of 2010 for the structure. According to a Snyderville Basin Planning Commission staff report, the building’s use of tension membrane fabric, which is prohibited by code, was the reason for this limited use.

An extension was granted to the developer that allowed the restaurant to be operated throughout the 2012-2013 ski season. When Canyons’ mountain operations was leased to Vail Resorts in spring 2013, the county gave the resort a permit to use the structure through the 2013-2014 ski season, with assurances the structure would be removed by June, 2014.

Brianne Kelsey director of development with Talisker Mountain, Inc. is in charge of the proposed Cloud Dine Day Lodge, which would be 7,874 square feet, or an increase of about 50 percent in size from the current restaurant.

"We have not only an obligation, but a want and a need for this lodge on that side of the resort," Kelsey said. "The day lodge is a restaurant and provides a dining option on that side of the ski hill. We want to carry on and continue with that plan, but it has a higher demand than what we have existing."

The Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District did have an issue with the proposed expansion of the lodge in a letter to the county, District Engineer Bryan Atwood said the district would not approve the expansion until a public wastewater system is extended to the property.

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If approved, the Cloud Dine Day Lodge would have expanded guest seating areas, additional restroom facilities, a kitchen, storage area and a ski patrol area. It would be 24 feet high at its tallest and portions of the existing structure would remain, with permanent additions built around it.

"We want to increase [the lodge’s] dining space to have more occupants," Kelsey said. "It’s a great space that we’re looking at taking advantage of. It’s a top-of-the-mountain dining experience."

The proposed expansion to the Cloud Dine Day Lodge was scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Sheldon Richins Building but was cancelled. More information can be found at summitcounty.org.